2007 National Student PSR Conference Report
The US student branch of IPPNW, Student Physicians for Social Responsibility, held its 2007 National Conference entitled “Medical Consequences of War” from February 23-25 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
This past February, approximately 100 students from all corners of the US attended the 2007 National Student PSR (IPPNW-USA) Conference. Like-minded medical students from across the country interfaced to share their experiences over the past two years as budding physician activists, and enhanced their knowledge bases via plenaries and workshops throughout their weekend at Stanford University. Presenters at the conference included keynote speaker Dr. Les Roberts, physicians and medical students from across the US, Cesar Aleman of IPPNW-Nicaragua and NWIP representatives Wenjing Tao, Thomas Silfverberg, and Martina Grosch from Sweden. While the theme of the conference was war and health, presenters explored such related (and inter-related) topics such as small arms violence, the US responsibility in de-escalating the global nuclear threat, the war on drugs, and environmental health. Furthermore, special effort was made to include the effects of war on Iraqis, Afghanis and our own soldiers - consistent with the sentiment that all who experience war are victims in the eyes of conscientious medical advocates.
Friday night served as an introduction to the conference, with talks including “Medical Consequences of the Iraq War” delivered by current PSR National President, Dr. Catherine Thomasson, and “Bridge-Building: Connecting People with Health, and Health with Peace”. The latter presentation, delivered by PSR/IPPNW founding vice-president, Dr. Herbert Abrams, focused on the history of PSR and IPPNW and these organizations’ legacy in nuclear disarmament. Dr. Abrams was awarded the “PSR Distinguished Leadership Award” at the conference for a lifetime of devotion to nuclear abolition through PSR and IPPNW. Students capped the night off with a screening of “The Ground Truth”, a documentary about US soldiers who have served in the Iraq War.